For Red Sox veteran Mike Lowell, the frustration is getting harder to contain

Associated PressBoston Red Sox infielder Mike Lowell has considered asking for his release from a team that can't trade him and has no place to play him.

NEW YORK - His window to playing time eliminated by David Ortiz' better hitting, and torn between loyalties to his team and to himself, Mike Lowell is making no secret of his frustration at what he sees as a no-win situation.

He has considered asking for his release from the team, he said Tuesday.

"I know I still want to play baseball, I still think I can play the game, but it's out of my control,'' said Lowell, the Red Sox veteran who was out of the lineup Tuesday against New York, even with left-hander CC Sabathia pitching for the Yankees.

"I don't have a crystal ball, but the situation here, I don't see it was being very good.''

Lowell is hitting .263 in 57 at-bats. He has played in 20 of Boston's 39 games.

For a time, he batted against left-handers while Ortiz hit against righties. That wasn't much, but it was something.

Now, even that is diminishing. Ortiz, who has 102 at-bats, hit his seventh home run Monday.

He's pushed his RBI total to 18, and his average has risen from .146 to .235.

Lowell, 36, thinks it would probably be better off if he were not on the team.

"David and I are taking up two roster spots for players who don't play the field,'' he said.

He has considered asking for his release.

"Sure I have. I think it's a normal train of thought,'' he said.

But he hasn't, at least not yet, and in his heart, he would rather not.

The Red Sox don't want to do it, either. Releasing Lowell would require them to pay the rest of his $12 million salary for 2010.

He could simply quit, but that would mean he would forfeit his salary.

What Lowell wants is to play for the Red Sox. He does not see that happening with this roster.

Terry Francona was asked if Lowell had expressed his dissatisfaction to him.

"He hasn't, to me,'' said the Red Sox manager, who has communicated with Lowell, but apparently not in those specifics.

Lowell is not blaming anybody.

"I think it's probably right to keep David in the lineup. He's hot. He has that ability,'' Lowell said.

That doesn't make him happy, though. He has talked openly of retiring after this season, but even if that happens, he doesn't want to go out like this.

He said he has not spoken with the Red Sox over whether his status will change, even in a Red Sox uniform or by going elsewhere.

"Basically, I haven't talked to them since the start of spring training. The (platoon) thing kind of came about because David wasn't hitting,'' Lowell said.

At Yankee Stadium, Ortiz and Lowell were sitting just a few feet apart, separated by two lockers and a door.

Their friendship has remained sturdy during this ordeal. Ortiz has said he takes no pleasure from seeing Lowell lose at-bats, even though he wants to play every day.

Similarly, Lowell said Ortiz' early slump did not please him, even though it resulted in at-bats he wanted.

"That's bad karma. If I thought that way, I don't think my results would be very good,'' Lowell said.

The situation would be more bearable if the Red Sox were winning, Lowell said.

"When we led 9-7 in the ninth Monday, I was as happy as anybody,'' he said.

"(Winning) probably would not affect my playing time, but it would affect how I felt about the way the season was going.''

Francona said several factors went into putting Ortiz in the lineup Tuesday.

"The last thing I want to do is keep a guy from getting hot,'' he said.

Ortiz has had some success against Sabathia, and Yankee Stadium is favorable to left-handers.

Francona said those factors were considered, too.

"If they'd give us two DH's, I'd do it,'' he said.

The Red Sox nearly traded Lowell to Texas in the offseason. The deal was killed when a new injury was discovered, a thumb problem that required surgery.

The healing process from that procedure kept him out of action for much of spring training.

"Those six weeks (out of action) really hurt,'' said Lowell, who is convinced a previous hip problem had healed sufficiently, allowing him to play every day.

Other teams were not able to see that in spring training, though. That made Lowell untradeable, even if the Red Sox were willing to pay a big chunk of his salary, as they were prepared to do with Texas.

With an interleague series coming up this weekend in Philadelphia, with no DH in force, Ortiz and Lowell are both expected to be on the bench.

In past years, when this situation arose. Lowell has been a starter at third, and Francona has tried to use Ortiz in spot duty at first base because of his bat.

That's unlikely now. Even when the Red Sox use a DH, Lowell sees no reason to think he'll play enough to be effective.

"I don't think I've played three days in a row all season. That's a tougher test for me to get going, because my strength has been my consistency.

"Who am I going to hit for in our lineup? If I hit, they run for me.

"I don't think there's a place to do that on this team. It might be better off if I were not eating up a roster spot.''